External Source Posts

Location data is one of the most coveted and sensitive data points in the digital ecosystem, and combined with an array of new context-based services, it promises a future of ultra-personalization. In this post for Privacy Perspectives, I discuss the state of location information and the unclear rules and control around the collection and use of this information. As companies build more and more advertising and user-profiling on top of different types of location data, we need to provide more effective controls. // More on IAPP Privacy Perspectives.

In a post for the IAPP’s Privacy Perspectives blog, I discuss my recent experiences flying a DJI Phantom 2 drone and share some thoughts on how industry (and government) can work together to address the perceived privacy problems that could emerge from flying robots over our heads. // More on Privacy Perspectives.

Been spending more and more time at work trying to get a handle on the politics (and definition) of de-identification. De-identification, in short, are processes designed to make it more difficult to connect information with one’s identity. While industry and academics will argue over what exactly that means, my takeaway is that de-identification battles have become proxies for a profound lack of trust and transparency on both sides. I tried to flesh out this idea a bit, and in the process, made the mistake of wading into the world of statistics. // Read more on the Future of Privacy Forum Blog.

Happy to report that Truthout today published my quick op-ed entitled “Big Data’s Big Image Problem.” Not only does this piece expand on comments the Future of Privacy Forum submitted as part of the White House’s Big Data Review, but it also riffs on my favorite part of the latest Marvel movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As a privacy wonk, I took great pleasure in discovering that ::minor spoilers:: Captain America’s chief villain was actually “The Algorithm.” When Captain America doesn’t like you, you know you’ve got an image problem, and frankly, big data has an image problem.

Concerns about facial recognition technology have appeared within the context of “tagging” images on Facebook or how it transforms marketing, but these interactions are largely between users and service providers. Facial recognition on the scale offered by wearable technology such as Google Glass changes how we navigate the outside world. Traditional notice and consent mechanisms can protect Glass users but not the use by the user himself. // More on the Future of Privacy Forum Blog.

Today, the data deluge that Big Data presents encourages a passivity and misguided efforts to get off the grid. With an “Internet of Things” ranging from our cars to our appliances, even to our carpets, retreating to our homes and turning off our phones will do little to stem the datafication tide. Transparency for transparency’s sake is meaningless. We need mechanisms to achieve transparency’s benefits. // More on the Future of Privacy Forum Blog.

On Wednesday, the FAA held a forum to seek input from members of the public on the agency’s development of a privacy policy for domestic civilian drones. If the unmanned aircraft industry wishes to encourage the widespread societal embrace of this technology, suggesting that drones do not present privacy challenges and moreover, arguing that our current legal and policy framework can adequately address any concerns is counterproductive. // More on the Future of Privacy Forum Blog.